In vitro and in vivo Areca catechu crude aqueous extract as an anthelmintic against Ascaridia galli infection in chickens

Intestinal parasites cause severe diseases at poultry farms, especially in developing countries, including Indonesia. Infections cause significant decreases in productivity at poultry farms. is a common nematode found in chickens with a prevalence of up to 92%. This study evaluates the and effects of crude aqueous extract (AAE) as an anthelmintic against . In the study, already-infected slaughtered chickens were collected from local slaughterhouses in Yogyakarta. The chicken intestines were carefully examined and transported to the Parasitological Laboratory of Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta. was collected from the intestines and put into a Petri dish containing 0.62% saline solution. Sixty individuals were soaked in different concentrations of the AAE for 3-6 h. The number of deceased was recorded by ascertaining whether they had ceased movement using a stereo microscope. The morphological characteristics of the parasites were studied. The study used 40 female chickens that were 1.5 months old and infected with the eggs of . Approximately 3000 infective eggs were found in each chicken. There were four treatment groups; Group A served as the control and was treated with Aquadestilata, Group B was treated with 26 mg/ml of AAE, Group C was treated with 79 mg/ml of AAE, and Group D was treated with 50 mg/ml of pyrantel pamoate. The AAE was applied using a pipette for 14 days. The observed parameters include the effect of the treatments on hematology, body weight (BW), and the number of eggs within each gram of fecal matter. The AAE damaged the morphology, including the anterior end, posterior end, and vulva, of . The tegument of the anterior and posterior ends was slightly rougher, wrinkled, and damaged. The vulva and spicule ducts were irregular and indistinct. The average eggs per gram (EPG) in the untreated control increased from 1450±355.90 to 1975±325.96. The average EPG decreased from 1485±386.62 to 0±0.00 during 14 days of treatment of 79 mg/ml of AAE. The mean BW gain in the treated chickens was significantly (p